HOLLYWOOD – Given an early full-season, 22-episode order by NBC, “The Michael J. Fox Show” is well underway. Shooting in New York City, the single-camera sitcom stars Fox as a TV-news version of himself – a Parkinson’s disease-suffering family man who re-enters the workplace, much to the relief of his old news-director boss, played by Wendell Pierce, and his family, who are glad to have him out of the house again.

The show’s jumpstart production schedule, headed for a Sept. 26 premiere, has already wrapped six episodes, while simultaneously complicating Pierce’s homefront obligations. He flew from the set last week to escort Michelle Obama around Sterling Farms, the west-bank grocery store he and partners Troy Henry and James Hatchett opened in March.

“I live in the airport,” Pierce said Saturday (July 27) at the Summer TV Tour, after he, Fox and the show’s executive producers participated in a panel Q&A to preview the show. “I’m tri-coastal.”

The panel interview mostly focused on Fox’s disease and its role on the show (see below), so I approached Pierce later to ask how he’s liking playing straight-comedy.

The roles he’s best-known for – Bunk Moreland in “The Wire” and Antoine Batiste in “Treme” – have many moments of hilarity, but are primarily dramatic characters.

As Harris Green opposite Fox’s Mike Henry, Pierce will provide buddy moments both at work and home (one of the details that emerged from the session was that Tracy Pollan, Fox’s real-life wife, has already shot a guest appearance on the show, and had several scenes with Pierce) for the show’s title character.

Wendell Pierce.NBC

“It’s great, because it’s a real challenge,” said Pierce of sitcom work. “Doing a single-camera comedy, you’re shooting a film. When you have a studio audience, you know exactly where you are.

“If you’re true to the scripts and true to the moment, the moment will be humorous. Mike and I are always talking about how something will work better. ‘Is that working for you?’ I realize that’s the best way to work it.

“To have all this time before the premiere, to be this far into the show – it’s been fun.”

Pierce made note on Twitter of the recent HBO announcement that “Treme” will conclude its run with a five-episode season airing starting Dec. 1.

“It’s a great way to end the show,” he said. “It’s a great Christmas gift at the end of the year.

“Having a short order like that, it’s more like a miniseries. There’s so much we get into those five episodes. I think it’s going to be a real present to the city. And I think the series is going to be a cultural document about where we were at that particular time. I think people will be able to relate back to it, always.”

Fox confronts his health issues head-on: Several jokes in the pilot episode address his disability, including shakiness on the air.

"There's nothing horrifying about it to me," he says. "I don't think it's gothic nastiness. There's nothing horrible on the surface about someone with a shaky hand. The way I look at it, sometimes it's frustrating, sometimes it's funny. I need to look at it that way."

The producers also teased how they’ll use Anne Heche, the newest cast member. “She’s the newest nemesis for Mike,” Laybourne said. “Let’s just say there was a disputed incident 20 years ago in the Everglades and she used Mike to help her career. As an anchor, they’ll butt heads.”